£5 - The Postal History of Waterlooville including Cosham, Widley, Purbrook, Denmead, Hambledon, Cowplain, Lovedean, Horndean and Chalton

The Postal History of Waterlooville
including Cosham, Widley, Purbrook,
  Denmead, Hambledon, Cowplain,
  Lovedean, Horndean and Chalton

             by Mike Hill
              July 2015

               £5

Tourist Map of 1991 showing the locations of Post Offices in the
Waterlooville area.

                               2

Havant Borough History Booklet No. 52

To view, comment, and order all
booklets visit: www.hhbkt.com

           Read also Booklet No. 38:
A History of the Post Office in the Havant Area

           Edited by Ralph Cousins

                        3

4

The Postal History of Waterlooville including
  Cosham, Widley, Purbrook, Denmead, Hambledon,
     Cowplain, Lovedean, Horndean and Chalton
                                Mike Hill

                              Introduction
The Waterlooville Philatelic Society was formed at the time of the great
stamp collecting boom of the early 1970s and as a founder member I
discovered that there was little information about the postal history of the
local area since the founding of the village in 1815 some 200 years ago. Thus
I was encouraged to start out on a journey of exploration into the history of
postal services in the local area, a journey which has given me many hours of
enjoyment. What I have achieved has been helped enormously by those of
the Waterlooville Philatelic Society notably the late Eric Whyley and Mike
English, and also the late Geoffrey Salter of the Waterlooville Library. Much
of my research was published in the Journal of the Hampshire Postal History
Society of which I was editor for a number of years. I must also thank David
Coxon whose father took over from George Pook as postmaster in the early
fifties for his memories and Paul Costen [www.costen.co.uk] who allowed me
access to his scanned collection of postcards to search for Post Offices.
Sitting astride the Post Road from Portsmouth to London, later to be known
as the A3 it was to become an important village and now of course a town in
its own right which continues to grow. The road itself grew in importance
and the tracks that threaded through the Forest of Bere assumed great
importance from Tudor times with the growth of the Royal Navy. It was one
of the first roads to be administered by a Turnpike Trust in 1710 and local
historians are fortunate that the original minute book survives. Postal
charges were based on the distance from London and were carefully
recorded in books and maps.

                                     5

Mileages extracted from Paterson’s Roads edition of 1799 and a strip map
from the 1785 edition.
It will be noted that Horndean is shown as 7½ miles from Petersfield and
some 62 miles from London Bridge then it is through the Forest of Bere to
White Lane End 3 miles and a further ⅞ of a mile to Purbrook and 2⅞ miles
to Cosham, 68 miles from London Bridge.

                                    6

The Ship and Bell Inn at Horndean was an important coaching stop. It was
probably here that Samuel Pepys took a guide through the forest who he
claimed in his diary took him much out of his way on one of his many visits to
Portsmouth.
White Lane End, Waite Lane End or Wheat Lane End, was situated just south
of the cross roads and began to assume more importance with the
Disafforestation Act of 1810 which allowed development of the Forest of
Bere. The London to Portsmouth Mail Coach passed in both directions at
night but did not stop.

Portsmouth
The first recorded postmark for Portsmouth dates from 1705 and the towns
postal history is recorded in The Post in Portsmouth by Cyril A Sinfield MBE
in 1982 which has now been updated by Malcolm Montgomery MBE (2011)
with copies available from the Portsmouth & District Philatelic Society, price
£20.

Cosham

                            Established by 1695.

                                      7

1803 – First recorded postmark

22 March 1817 – Boxed Mileage Type 29

27 September 1841 – Undated Circle issued
February 1854 – Thomas Brown Baker, Postmaster, appointment confirmed
20 May 1854
1855 – Thomas Brown Baker, Receiver. Post Office Directory
2 January 1855 – Money Order facilities provided
1859 – Thomas Brown Baker, Postmaster, Chemist and Druggist next to the
Swan Hotel
9 December 1861 – Savings Branch facilities provided
1 October 1864 – Administered by Fareham
1865 – Became a Railway Sorting Office

                                     8

Three of the five examples of the barred numeral
                           cancellations first introduced in October 1865
                           remaining in use until 1905.

1870 – Telegraphic facilities provided, call sign CMO
19 June 1893 – Mr T B Baker retired after 39-years-service At his testimonial
at a meeting held in Cosham on Saturday 9 September 1893 it was reported
that in 1834 correspondence was brought in and again despatched in one
sealed bag only being 65 in and 75 out. Since then the following duties have
been devolved upon Cosham: Money Orders, Savings Bank, Government Life
Insurances, Issue of Licences, Payment of Pensions and Annuities, Telegraph
System, Postal Orders and Parcel Post. Within the last few years the whole of
the sorting work for the district including the Sub-Post Offices of Hilsea,
Waterlooville, Purbrook, Stakes, Denmead, Hambledon and Horndean had
been added to Cosham with the present number of letters and parcel
receptacles dealt with daily being over 86. As many as 140 telegraphic
messages had been transmitted in one day and the daily average of letters
dealt with was now about 2,100.
Mr Baker reported that during his long service there had been no cases of
dishonesty or peculation connected with the Cosham Post Office and no
occasion had arisen that required intervention from the police or censure
from the Central Office.

                                      9

June 1893 – Mr Henry Charles Hewlett appointed Sub-Postmaster with his
wife Helen as Post Office assistant (late of Horndean Post Office)
1901 – Designated as a Railway Sorting Office

1 August 1905 – Sorting Office and Post Town

1911 – Henry Charles Hewlett, Sub-Postmaster, age 48 years, Ellen Hewlett
Counter Assistant and Telegraphist
1921 – Henry Charles Hewlett dies
1930 May 1938 – E J Simmons, Postmaster
5 December 1932 – Administered by Portsmouth
May 1938 – Walter John Barnes, Postmaster
1951 – New premises opened Northern Parade
July 1953 – Re-classified as a Sub-Post Office and will therefore not be open
on Sundays
1954 – Rural status
By 1955 – Town Sorting Office
2015 Post Office at 13 The High Street, Cosham, PO6 3EH

                                      10

Two postal slogans used at Cosham.

Widley
Established 1931 – Administered by Cosham
From 5 December 1932 – Administered by Portsmouth and located at 74
London Road. It had a small delivery office which was integrated into the
main sorting office at Waterlooville.
1943 – A T Garner, Sub-Postmaster
18 March 1935 – Telegraphic facilities provided, call sign VIU
From 11 April 1990 – Administered by Waterlooville Crown Office
3 March 2004 – Closed

Purbrook
16 September 1807 – Freeling Minute:
  Since that time Lord Keith who has residence at Purbrook has strongly
  applied for an arrangement to enable him to receive his letters earlier
  which, as they relate to the public service, is an object of some importance
  to him. He proposes that the Havant bags be left at Horndean to be
  despatched from thence six days a week by a man and horse who are to
  wait while the Emsworth letters are sorted and then to proceed to that
  place and with this is connected an arrangement for delivering Lord
  Keith’s pouch at Purbrook and effecting the distribution of letters in the
  village. The result in point of time will be that his Lordship will receive his
  letters between 8 and 9am instead of 11 and 12am and the pence which he
                                        11

pays for the present accommodation will be commuted to two guineas per
  annum. The Havant letters would arrive there at 7am instead of 10am and
  those for Emsworth at about 7.30am instead of nearly 11am.

                               Viscount Keith
   The Deputy of Horndean for conveying the bag to Havant by man and
  horse £25 per annum. For a receiving house at Purbrook £3 3s. 0d. per
  annum. To the sub-deputy of Cosham £9 2s. 6d. compensation per annum
  during his continuance in office.
   The delivery of letters at Lord Keith’s and at Purbrook to be taken out of
  the hands of the deputy at Cosham and he retains the delivery at Cosham
  and Hilsea with the profits attached to them and this same allowance is to
  enable him to defray his expense of sending a person to Hilsea with the
  letters.
2 February 1808 – Freeling Minute 28a:
  The expense of the horse post which would be necessary if Purbrook were
  not in the arrangement is so heavy that the Postmaster at Horndean has

                                      12

earnestly desired to give it up … Revenue does not justify expense. Propose
  that the Purbrook letters shall, as formerly, be obtained from Portsmouth
  and that a foot messenger shall carry the Havant bag costing 12s. per
  week saving £6 1s. 0d. Lord Keith is but a very short distance from the Post
  Town of Havant from whence his letters will be obtained.
1813 – Established as Receiving Office No. 5. A Sub-Post Office administered
by Portsmouth
1855 – Mrs Mary Leaver, Receiver and Grocer

27 September 1841 – Undated Circle issued and
recorded in use until 1853

A thimble post mark Oc 7 1906 with an alpha time
code [C]

1861 – Mrs Mary Leaver, Postmistress. Census
1 October 1864 – Administered by Fareham
1866 – Administered by Cosham Railway Sorting Office
June 1885 – Telegraphic Office call sign PUR
1891 – James Ford Postmaster. Census
1901 – James Ford, Postmaster and Miss Alice Maud Ford, Postmistress.
Census
April 1911 – Miss Alice Maud Ford, Sub-Postmistress. Census
5 December 1932 – Administered by Portsmouth

                                      13

Purbrook Post Office, fifth porch on the left.

Purbrook Post Office circa 1930s. The road on the right was known as Van
Diemen’s Lane but was subsequently re-named Post Office Road.

                                     14

February 1952 – A thief entered the premises through the roof but was
unable to open the safe
From 11 April 1990 – Administered by Waterlooville
2015 – One Stop Post Office, 10 London Road, Purbrook, PO7 5LJ

Crookhorn Lane near Purbrook
17 February 1970 – Established at 7 Purbrook Chase, The Precinct, PO7 7QH.
Administered by Portsmouth
11 April 1990 – Administered by Waterlooville Crown Office
2015 – Crookhorn Lane Post Office, 8 Crookhorn Lane, PO7 5QE

Fort Purbrook
Opened by 15 September 1914. Administered by Portsmouth through
Cosham RSO. Closed by 10 November 1914. Used as a transit camp at the
outbreak of World War One.

Stakes Hill
Established by July 1885 – Administered by Cosham Railway Sorting Office
1892 – Charles James K Marshall died and his wife moved from London to
Stakes Hill Road Post Office where she became the Postmistress.
1896 – Rubber handstamp issued
                                    15

The 5d. stamp is cancelled by the Cosham undated rubber parcel handstamp.
1901 – Charles Herbert Marshall has started his photographic career
1902 – Administered by Portsmouth

          1903. Mrs Marshall outside the Post Office at Stakes Hill.

                                      16

1907 – Administered by Cosham, Mrs Louisa M Marshall, Sub-Postmistress.
Kelly’s Directory
1915 – Administered by Waterlooville
1923 – Mrs Louisa M Marshall, Sub-Postmistress. Kelly’s Directory
9 July 1924 – Closed. Mrs Marshall died four years later, age 77, at Fairleigh,
151 London Road, the home of her son Charles Herbert Taylor Marshall,
photographer.
5 March 1990 – Reopened. Administered by Waterlooville Crown Office
2 April 2008 – Closed

Waterlooville
Established 1847 – Administered by Portsmouth
3 December 1847 – The first recorded postmark was an undated, double arc
‘sans serif’ mark in a blue/green ink which was issued to Edward Yeulett
when the office was established in 1847. These undated handstamps were
only issued to offices with income under £1,000 per annum.

                           The name Waterloo-ville may have been dictated
                           by the Post Office to differentiate it from the
                           Waterloo in London and Liverpool although the
                           name came in to use in may 1832.

1851 – James Restall, Baker and Grocer, Stakes Road, Farlington. Census

                                      17

17 June 1855. Franked at Waterlooville and Portsmouth.

1855 – William Henry Yeulett, Grocer and Postmaster. Post Office Directory
1859 – James Restall listed as Postmaster. Whites Directory
1861 – James Restall, Baker and Grocer, Stakes Road, Farlington. Census
1865 – James Restall, Baker and Grocer, Sub Postmaster, Stakes Road,
Administered by Fareham. Post Office Directory
1870 – Administered by Cosham Railway Sorting Office
1871 – James Restall, Baker and Grocer, Stakes Road, Farlington. Census
1881 – James Restall, Grocer and Postmaster, Stakes Road, Farlington. Census
14 December 1882 – Telegraph Office opened. Post Office Directory

December 1884 – Number H34 allocated. The time of
posting is shown by an alpha code, which was
replaced by time in full in the 1890s.

                                         18

1891 – James Restall, Baker and Grocer, Swiss Road, Waterlooville. Census
1894 – The dated Double Ring Postmark introduced and in use until the
1920s
1901 – George Carswell Pook, age 30, Sub Postmaster and Stationer, Stakes
Hill Road, Farlington
The 1901 census states that the Post Office was between Henry Wadham’s
drapery business on the corner of the London Road and Henry Dacombe’s
carriers business in Stakes Hill Road.

This postcard published by G C Pook it is the first building on the right
possibly destroyed later to provide access to the London Road shops now
Lloyds Bank. Dacombes building survives as the Tile Shop.
1907 – George Carswell Pook, Sub-Postmaster

                                     19

Waterlooville Skeleton Postmarks.

These were a temporary datestamp made up from loose type to replace one
lost or broken or for use on an exceptional quantity of mail. Extremely rare
as they were only in use for a few weeks. Ethel Kate Rundle was an assistant
at this time and eventually, in December 1915, married Herbert Marshall at
her home in Knightsbridge, Devon.

James Restall’s grocery business before his nephew George Carswell Pook
took over the premises and it was extended and became the Waterlooville
Post Office. The occasion was the East Pack of the Hambledon Hounds’ meet
at the crossroads.

                                     20

Similar views exist when his Uncle James Restall moved into these premises
with his grocery business. When he retired George Pook moved the Post
Office and Stationery business into this site having extended the shop front.
Signs in the shop window refer to Photo Frames, Picture Postcards and
Circulating Library. Note the water pump in front of the side entrance on the
left and on the right the Hambledon Road entrance to the garden which
backed onto Swiss Road. From here it was but a short walk to St George’s
Church where he was a lay preacher.

                           George Carswell Pook

                                     21

1923 – George Carswell Pook, Sub-Postmaster and Stationer. Kelly’s Directory

31 August 1932 – The evening postal delivery service suspended on
Wednesdays. Letters which may arrive by evening mail may however be
obtained by application at the office. All other services remain unaltered.
1933 – Administered by Portsmouth

                                Waterlooville/Portsmouth/Hants
                                       2.15pm 28 NO 39

1939 – George Carswell Pook, Sub-Postmaster, Newsagent Tel. No. 2274.
Kelly’s Directory
14 June 1950 – Post Office Assistant Ethel Peggy Phillips of Maralyn Avenue
witness in a case involving theft by falsification of Post Office Savings Bank
Savings Book.
15 Feb 1951 – George Carswell Pook died, age 80, and the business became
Pook & Coxon Newsagents. His estate was valued at £39,614 15s. 2d. [Value
today between £1.1 and £4.9 million.]

                                      22

The old premises now taken over by the National Provincial Bank and the
Post Office now in S E Coxon’s premises.

1951 – 1960 Stanley Edward Coxon Sub-Postmaster. [Having previously had
a newsagents business at 236 Kingston Road, Portsmouth.]
1959 – The Universal machine cancellation introduced, ‘W’looville
Portsmouth Hants’, with seven continuous wavy lines.

Postmarked 8 SEP 1965. Innsbruck (Austria) – Waterlooville – Portsmouth.

                                    23

1960 – Opened in ex-Admiralty huts. [By the telephone exchange.]

These premises were abandoned when a custom-built Post Office opened in
1975 at Swiss Road complete with its own sorting office.

                    Short lived premises in Swiss Road.

                                    24

1976 – Universal machine cancellation with Post Code slogan
1980 – 4th Type dated double ring Postmark used for special purposes
11 April 1990 – Became a Post Town and Crown Office in its own right

                                    25

Commemorative medal
                                                 marking the 150th
                                                 anniversary of the first
                                                 Postage Stamp. Presented
                                                 to everyone working for
                                                 Royal Mail. 6 May 1990.

Until a new datestamp was received the word Portsmouth was removed
from existing dies by filing. A temporary conversion reading W’LOOVILLE
HANTS. Red ink was only used between 10 January and 16 September after
the introduction of the Penny Black commemorative stamps.

Second Class Post so no time recorded. Universal cancellation with: ‘Pass on
Your Post Code’.
10 March 1992 – New delivery office opened in Waterberry Drive with a staff
of 134
                                     26

Havant Borough History Booklets

                       August 2016
                Compiled by Ralph Cousins
              ralph.cousins@btinternet.com
                      023 9248 4024
         Printed by Park Community Enterprises
All booklets printed in A5 size except those marked* which
                           are A4
View all booklets, comment, and order
     on line at: www.hhbkt.com

Copies also on sale at the Spring Arts and Heritage Centre,
     East Street, HAVANT, PO9 1BS. 023 9247 2700
                            27

Havant Borough History Booklets
1 A Brief History of Havant £5
2 A Brief History of Stockheath £3
3 A Brief History of the Railway in Havant £6
4 The Arrival of the Railway in Emsworth
5 A Collection of Articles on Hayling Island, Vol. 1 £6
6 A Short History of Emsworth and Warblington £6
7 The Bedhampton War Memorial £1.50
8* Belmont Park £2
9 Charles Lewis, Surveyor and Auctioneer in Nineteenth Century Havant 50p
10 The Edgar Borrow Foundation 50p
11 Havant Congregationalists in the Edwardian Era 1901–1914 £1
12 The Havant Dissenters’ Cemetery £3
13 The Havant Memorial Cross £2
14 Havant United Reformed Church £3
15 Havant War Memorial Hospital and the Royal Doulton Nursery Rhyme
Tiles £5
16 Brick Making on Hayling Island
17 History of Leigh Park and the Hamlet of Leigh £3
18 HMS Havant £2
19 Farms in the Leigh Park Area £3
20 Malting and Brewing in Havant £4
21 Wartime Memories of Hayling £5
22 The Great War of 1914 to 1918 £5
23 The Havant Bonfire Boys £2
24 The Havant Cemeteries at New lane and Eastern Road £6
25 The Hayling Bridge and Wadeway £6
26 The Hayling Island Branch Line £6
27 The Inns and Public Houses of Rowlands Castle, Durrants, Redhill,
Finchdean, Forestside and Stansted £6
28 The Inns of Bedhampton £4
29 Havant’s Inns, Posting Houses and Public Houses £6
30 The Public Houses and Inns of Waterlooville, Cowplain, Lovedean,
Purbrook and Widley £6
                                   28

31 The Rookery and Somerstown £1
32 The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre and Borough of Havant Timeline £6
33 Childhood Memories of Havant in the Second World War £6
34* The Public Houses and Hostelries of Hayling Island £8
35 A Brief History of Emsworth and Warblington
36 Havant in the Second World War £5
37 Reaction, a First World War Poem £2
38 A History of the Post Office in Havant Area £6
39 Revd Thomas Loveder
40 The Making of Havant Volume 1 £5
41 The Making of Havant Volume 2 £5
42 The Making of Havant Volume 3 £5
43 The Making of Havant Volume 4 £5
44 The Making of Havant Volume 5 £5
45* The Development of Denvilles, Havant £8
46 The Havant Union Workhouse £5
47 A Collection of Articles on Hayling Island, Vol. 2 £6
48 The Forgotten Admirals of Leigh £5
49 A Collection of Articles on the Havant United Reformed Church £5
50 A Brief History of Bedhampton £6
51 Coach Traffic in Nineteenth Century Emsworth £1
52 The Postal History of Waterlooville £5
53 The Remarkable Mr Pink £3
54 Bedhampton and Havant and the Royal Navy £6
55* A History of Waterlooville Vol. 1 £6
56* A History of Waterlooville Vol. 2 £6
57* A History of Waterlooville Vol. 3 £6
58 A History of Waterlooville, Alan Reger £3
59 A Brief History of Havant, A. M. Brown
60* Origins of Portsmouth Corporation Bus Routes to Leigh Park £6
61* Origins of Southdown Motor Services Bus Routes to Leigh Park £6
62 Warblington, Its Castle and Its Church £4
63 Proposed Langstone Harbour Airbase £3
64 The Passing Scene – Waterloo to Portsmouth by Train £2
65* William Henry Stone. His History and Time at Leigh Park £6
66 A Langstone Miscellany £6
                                    29

30

1995 – The premises in Swiss Road were vacated and the Post Office
transferred to retail premises in Wellington Way where they remain today.
Bigger premises however led to a series of industrial disputes between 2001
and 2003 as the Post Office went through a re-structuring process, cutting
working hours and staff.

                     The Post Office in Wellington Way.
April 2003 – Revised collection schedules introduced
April 2015 – Collection schedules revised to one a day

                                     31

Modern pre-paid postage using machine cancellations. Examples show the
changes in the discounted rates given to businesses operating this method of
mailing.

Waterlooville Jubilee Road
1923 – Walled Letter Box cleared at 8.40am, 1.15pm and 8.45pm. Sundays
5.30pm

2007 – The pillar box at the corner of Avondale Road and London Road was
moved here when the A3 bus corridor was built. It had previously been on
the opposite corner. Collection times in 2015.
                                     32

Waterlooville, London Road

                                     Post box with storage attached for
                                     bagged mail to be picked for delivery
                                     by the postman.

         Today’s post bag and my postman Greig, June 2015.

                                33

Two letters, First and Second class mail, posted on 18 June 2015, the 200th
Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

Waterlooville, Hambledon Road
2013 – Hambledon Parade

Hart Plain near Waterlooville
9 Nov 1960 – Administered by Portsmouth
11 April 1990 – Administered by Waterlooville Crown Office
9 June 2014 – Local Post Office

Hazleton near Cowplain
Established 1966 – Administered by Portsmouth
11 – April 1990 – Administered by Waterlooville Crown Office
11 September 2004 – Closed

                                     34

Denmead
July 1885 – Established in the premises of Walter Thomas Restall.
Administered by Cosham
2 July 1886 – Rubber handstamp issued
2 July 1888 – Money Order and Savings Branch facilities provided
1891 – Walter Thomas Restall, Grocer, Baker, Coal Merchant. Census
1901 – Walter Thomas Restall, Grocer and Draper. Census
1903 – Walter Thomas Restall, Grocer, Baker and Postmaster. Kelly’s
Directory

Single circle 26mm. No Code or time used.
Date and year only.

Recorded in use from 1904 to 1908.

1911 – Walter Thomas Restall, Grocer and Postmaster, Census
5 December 1932 – Administered by Portsmouth
1936 – Gerald Restall takes over as Postmaster following the death of his
father and continues until he dies in December 1974
11 April 1990 – Administered by Waterlooville Crown Office
27 May 2011 – Re-located in Co-operative Store
2015 – Denmead Post Office, Hambledon Road, Denmead, PO7 6NU

                                     35

The horse-drawn delivery van was replaced in 1921 with a motor van.

                                36

Hambledon with Horndean

Established by 1793 under Alton
28 May 1838 – Receiving Office No. 1 for Horndean
1841 – Mrs Eliza Tribe age 55 living at the Post Office. Census
30 May 1843 – Undated Circle issued. Administered by Horndean, a Sub-Post
Office from 1884
1851 – Mrs Eliza Tribe, age 64, Lodging House Keeper. Population 2052.
Census
1855 – Mrs Eliza Tribe, Postmistress. Post Office Directory
2 April 1860 – Money Order facilities provided
1861 – Mrs Elizabeth Brain, age 77, Postmistress. Census
16 December 1861 – Savings Branch facilities
                                       37

The first roadside pillar boxes appeared
                                     in 1852.

                                     The first national standard pillar box was
                                     made by Cochrane, Grove and Company
                                     of Dudley 1859-66.

                                     This one is still in use at Worlds End near
                                     Hambledon and is one of only nine boxes
                                     that have survived.

1871 – Miss Eliza Brain, age 52, Postmistress. Census
6 December 1871 – Telegraphic facilities provided call sign HBH
1881 – Miss Eliza Brain, age 59, Postmistress, Civil Service Clerk. Census
1 December 1884 – Sorting Office
1888 – Administered by Cosham
1891 – Miss Eliza Brain, age 69, Postmistress. Administered by Cosham
Railway Sorting Office. Population 2025. Census
1895 – Eliza Brain died. Her age was recorded as 83 years but this is at
variance with her age as recorded in various censuses and the Hambledon
Church Records record her baptism on 7 January 1816, which would make
her 79-years-old.
1898 – James Hunt, Sub-Postmaster
1901 – James Hunt, Sub-Postmaster. Census
1911 – William Ernest Hunt Postmaster, General Agent, Printer, Dyemaking,
Newsagent (Shopkeeper). Census. Mr Henry Bennett, an army pensioner was

                                       38

the Postman and Instructor for the 3rd Volunteer Regiment and his son
Henry George Bennett was the Post Office Messenger.

The Hambledon Post Office Staff circa 1906. © Joan Norman, Denmead Village
Association.

        Hambledon Skeleton Postmark

5 December 1932 – Administered by Portsmouth
11 April 1990 – Administered by Waterlooville Crown Office
16 July 2001 – Closed
1 February 2002 – Re-opened
29 April 2002 – Closed
19 January 2004 – Re-opened
                                    39

September 2014 – Closed
2015 – Peoples Market, West Street, open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
mornings only. PO7 4RW

Cowplain

Established 1897 – Administered by Cosham Railway Sorting Office. Rubber
handstamp issued
1901 – William G Grant, Postmaster
April 1911 – John Harcourt, Sub-Postmaster with wife Martha Harcourt and
daughter Bessie as assistants. Census
5 December 1932 – Administered by Portsmouth
28 August 1933 – Telegraphic facilities provided call sign ZXP

                                  Cowplain.

                                      40

1939-60 – Edward John Harcourt, Sub-Postmaster, Grocer, 39 London Road,
then 45 London Road, Waterlooville. Tel. 2271. Kelly’s Directory, Havant
Directory, 1960

The Premises were extended in the late 1930s. Possibly 1938 looking south.
Southdown Motor services have taken over from the Portsmouth-Horndean
Light railway and the post office has acquired a telephone kiosk.

           1961. On the corner of Kings Road and London Road.

                                    41

1970 – Postmaster was George Lothar Frenkel who produced his own first
day covers over the next 15 years until his untimely death in 1985. He was
also a member of the Waterlooville Philatelic Society.
11 April 1990 – Administered by Waterlooville Crown Office
2015 – Now part of the Co-operative Store

Catherington
Established 11 June 1933 – Administered by Portsmouth
11 April 1934 – Telegraph Office facilities provided, call sign ZZM
31 March 1978 – Closed

Lovedean

Established 10 April 1929 – Post Office Circular. Administered by Cosham. In
the Tudor Stores, built by Mr W G H Ruttle in March 1926, with his son-in-
law Frank Silvester as the Sub-Postmaster.
August 1932 – Dog, Gun and Wireless Licences now available from this office
5 December 1932 – Administered by Portsmouth
11 April 1934 – Telegraph Office facilities provided, call sign UVD
                                      42

1960 – 76 Lovedean Lane, Horndean. Havant Directory
1970 – 1978 – Mr R Hewar, Postmaster
1978 – The Tudor Stores converted to a private residence and the Post Office
transferred to a local shop
11 April 1990 – Administered by Waterlooville Crown Office.
24 October 2007 – Closed
27 March 2012 – Re-opened in Costcutters Store 337 Milton Road
November 2013 – Closed
2015 – Lovedean Post Office 329 Milton Rd, Cowplain, PO8 8LH

Horndean
Prior to 1797 – Horndean had been a Sub-Post Office administered by
Petersfield
10 July 1797 – Following a study by the General Post Office initiated by
Admiral Lord Hood of Catherington, Horndean, was made a chief office. This
resulted in the London to Portsmouth mail coach stopping to drop off local
letters as it passed through during the night.
10 April 1802 – Post Office minute refers to Mr Wise, Postmaster at
Horndean, vacating his appointment leaving a Mr Collins in charge of letters.
The appointment of a successor was left to Admiral Lord Hood.
28 November 1812 – Postmaster dismissed accused of theft from mail

                                     43

The first office was possibly the Ship and Bell Hotel.

1801-1813 – Mileage Mark 62, Type 3.

Hampshire Telegraph – Monday 22 November 1802
  “This afternoon two Gentlemen, who were going to Petersfield in a poft
  chaise, were robbed on Horndean Down, by three fellows dreffed in failors’
  habiliments.”
Hampshire Chronicle – Monday 27 April 1807
  “A report is in circulation, that one of the desperadoes that have so long
  infested this part of the country is taken. A Post Boy was fired at, a few
  days since, near Horndean; he had however the good fortune to escape
  unhurt; and on getting to that place, he gave information of the
  transaction. Some soldiers volunteered their services to scour the Forest of
  Bere, where there was no doubt but the villain was concealed; they were
                                      44

successful, and secured the offender, who was armed with a gun ………It is
  supposed that he has accomplices; and great hopes are now entertained,
  that the apprehension of this man will lead to the discovery of them.”

 1812-1816 – Mileage Mark 62, Type 4, with sides
 of box removed.

1826-1828 – Circular Date Stamp with Mileage but date omitted
1830-1838 – Circular Date Stamp with mileage removed
7 Nov 1837 – Penny Post Mark issued to connect with the receiving office at
Hambledon and Denmead. Letters were delivered for an additional 1d. per
letter. After the introduction of the Uniform Penny Post in 1840 a rural post
was set up to cover the villages of Clanfield, Chalton and Finchdean.

                                     45

1844 – No. 380 allocated

                           Recorded in use from August 1845 to
                           June 1854

                           Recorded in use from October 1859 to November
                           1860

                           Not recorded in use. Sent from GPO October 1880

                           Recorded in use from June 1873 to August 1880

1851 – John Henry Collis, Postman. Census
1855 – Thomas Stephens, Postmaster, age, 69 years. Post Office Directory
7 July 1855 – Post Office Minute 159/216: As the Postmaster of Horndean has
failed to discharge the debt due from him within the prescribed period I submit
his situation be declared vacant.
18 August 1855 – Mr Henry Glasse, formerly of Winchester, has been
appointed to the Mastership of the Horndean Post Office being vacant by the
resignation of Mr Stevens. Hampshire Chronicle
12 March 1856 – John Adams, the messenger between Horndean and
Chalton, be allowed to resume his duties with a caution as to his future
conduct as recommended by the Surveyor. He had been under suspension
having been taken into custody for drunkenness and an alleged assault on
the Constable but the offence was not committed whilst on duty.

                                      46

20 March 1858 – Approval given for a letter box to be erected at Barn Green
and daily deliveries and collections to be undertaken by this office
25 August 1858 – Wages of the Rural Messenger between Horndean and
Barn Green increased from 10 shillings (50p) to 11 shillings (55p) per week
2 September 1858 – The rural posts to Hambledon and Chalton rearranged.
The increased cost of £39 8s. (£39.40) justified by increased correspondence
1859 – Mr Henry Glasse, Postmaster, employing: William Frayne – Letter
Carrier, Joseph Bridle – Post Office Messenger
Head Office to Sorting Office
1 April 1859 – Finchdean Rural Letter Carrier (Adams) reprimanded for his
language to Mr Farrant
18 November – 1861 Savings Branch facilities provided
1870 – Telegraphic Office facilities provided, call sign HLU
1871 – Edward Yeulett, age 58, Postmaster, previously butcher and cattle
dealer. Employing Henry Colliss and William Frayne as Post Office
Messengers
1881 – Edward Rice Yeulett, age 68, Postmaster
1884 – Railway Sub-Post Office
1891 – Henry G Hewlett, Sub-Postmaster employing: Harry Hurst – Rural
Postman, Charles Clay – Postman, William G Pearson – Acting Postman, David
McGill – Postman, Louisa Paice – Post Office Assistant. Administered by
Cosham
1893? – Moved from 43 London Road to the premises of Charles Bettesworth
with his son Charles Albert Bettesworth, Sub-Postmaster

                                      47

An advertisement from an early guide to Horndean and District Note that the
business was established in 1784. Henry Thomas Bettesworth was the
Superintendent Registrar for Catherington but it was his son Charles who
was Sub-Postmaster.

                                    48

Two Squared Circle postmarks
                                             Horndean 12.45pm MY 27 1897
                                             and 8 pm AU 1 1904.

        The Post Office is shown on the right, opposite the Red Lion.
1 August 1905 – Sorting Office and Post Town
1915 – Administered by Cosham

                     Skeleton Postmarks for Horndean.

                                     49

5 December 1932 – Administered by Portsmouth
31 December 1937 – D Bettesworth, Postmaster. Letter of thanks published
on behalf of Mr J Atkinson, postman, whose home had been completely
destroyed by fire for funds totalling £31, Portsmouth News. This would have
been Dorothy Bettesworth, who succeeded her father Charles Albert
Bettesworth, whose retirement was recorded by Herbert Marshall in the
photograph below.

        Retirement of Charles Albert Bettesworth. Herbert Marshall.

11 April 1990 – Administered by Waterlooville
2015 – Horndean Post Office, 2 Portsmouth Road, Horndean, PO8 9LB. Tel.
023 9259 2108

                                    50

Chalton
Established 1888 – Administered by Cosham Railway Sorting Office, John and
Jane Sims, Grocer and Baker. Census
July 1890 – Administered by Horndean Railway Sorting Office
1901 – John and Jane Sims, Grocer and Baker of Woodcroft, Census. Rubber
handstamp issued
1918 – Administered by Cosham

                          Postmark CHALTON – COSHAM – HANTS
                          29 Ju 1926.

                      Chalton Post Office circa 1926.

                                      51

5 December 1932 – Administered by Portsmouth
28 August 1981 – Closed

Clanfield
Established 1886 – Administered by Horndean Railway Sorting Office
1891 – Elizabeth Jane Coles. Census
1899 – Rubber handstamp issued
1901 – Elizabeth Jane Coles, Grocer and Shopkeeper. Census
1911 – Kate Latter, Postmistress, Census

1915 – Administered by Cosham
5 December 1932 – Administered by Portsmouth
11 April 1990 – Administered by Waterlooville Crown Office
1996 – Mr Dennis Bradley, Sub Postmaster. Possible move to Co-operative
Store discussed
December 2012 – 14 White Dirt Lane, Clanfield, Waterlooville, PO8 0QL

                                      52

The old Post Office now known as The Old Post Cottage, June 2015.

                               53

About the author

Mike was born in Parkstone, Poole, Dorset in 1937 and his interest
in stamp collecting, like many boys of that period, started with
letters arriving from relatives serving in WW2. A sixpenny album
from Woolworths and some penny packets of mixed
Commonwealth stamps were sufficient to get started. Joining Poole
Grammar School in 1948 he joined the school stamp club, where he
served as Secretary, until leaving to join the Royal Navy. Now he
was able to visit the places which, until then, he had only seen on
stamps.

He joined the Waterlooville Stamp Club when it was formed in
1973, serving as Treasurer, Vice Chairman and now Chairman. The
club meets at the Westbrook Hall, Tempest Avenue on the third
Thursday of every month. Honorary Secretary, Paul Davidson, 023
9259 3987.

The hobby has changed dramatically during the past 70 years and
is no longer confined to sets of stamps but now involves Thematics,
Postal History and Postcards.

No research project can ever be considered complete and if you
have further details or comments then please let Mike know at
hillmoore@aol.com

                                54

Bibliography

Hampshire Record Office, Hampshire Postal History Societies
Journals 1-13, scanned copies.
Marshall, Alison. Waterlooville, A Modern Village, 1983.
Mogg, Edward, Paterson’s Roads, 1799 Edition.
Parmenter, John, Barred Numeral Cancellations Vol 3, updated
November 1997.
Price, Ken, Hampshire Post Offices, 22 December 2014.
Robinson, Martin, Old Letter Boxes, Shire Album 188.
Stapleton, Barry, Horndean 2000, 1999.
Stapleton, Barry, Waterlooville, A Pictorial History, 1996.
Whitney, Dr J T, Collect British Post Marks, Sixth Edition, Summer
1993.
Willcocks, R M and Jay, B, The British County Catalogue of Postal
History Vol 4, 1988.

Websites
www.historicaldirectories.org
www.findmypast for Census Records and Newspapers
www.freebmd for Births, Marriage and Death records

                                55

Commemorative mug issued to celebrate the opening of the new
Waterlooville delivery office in Waterberry Drive, 10th March 1992.

                                56